Pride & Passion
by Jokul Frosti
Summary: Sasuke only wants one thing out of the marriage he was forced into, but Fate is against him. Or is she? Could a second marriage be the salve to heal his pain? What secrets and sins could Sasuke's marriage to Uzumaki Naruto of Uzushiogakure reveal about origin of his first marriage? And what sinister plots are being hatched in the shadows of Konoha? [Yaoi, MPreg, T for now.]
1. The Dilemma, the Solution

**Hello~**

 **Naruto: GAH!**

 **Sasuke: What the hell are you doing here?! Don't you have other fandoms to write for?!**

 **Work and my PS4 are ruling parties in my life for the time being.**

 **Gaara: Then how did you manage to write this?**

 **I got the inspiration before I bought my PS4. I just again found the time to finish it now that I'm not doing the last shift at work for a while.**

 **So anyway! This was inspired by Rosswen's story, The Pride of A Clan. So, if anything sounds eerily similar, you know why. I'M NOT STEALING IT! I'm just using the plot idea with my own twists, and how I would have had certain incidents handled. I swear, I'm not a thief! My imagination just has a mind of it's own!**

 **Disclaimer:** As if I need to say I don't own the Naruto series. It's obvious I don't, or Boruto wouldn't exist, Itachi would be alive, and there would be SasuNaru out the wazoo. That being said, no one has reasons to sue me.

* * *

Black hair that shone midnight blue in certain light and was soft to the touch.

Fathomless eyes like black pools that captured one's soul.

Skin smooth, flawless in appearance, and pale as the moon.

A lithe body, deceptively strong.

Uchiha Sasuke was indeed a man to be desired with all these qualities and standing at almost six feet tall; he had been desired all his life really. He was strong, gorgeous, and he came from the prestigious Uchiha clan that helped found Konohagakure with the Senju clan, which put him in a very powerful position after the Hokage. But only one had won the right to be his wife.

Long, cotton-candy pink hair kept soft as silk.

Mint green eyes that laughed in victory.

Pale skin like cream, smooth and clear.

A small and petite body that would be appealing to any man.

Haruno Sakura was the lucky woman whose hand Sasuke took in marriage, and she was proud to boast about it any and every chance she could; everyone believed they looked great together as a couple, that they were perfect together. That was only the surface of things though; while Sakura strutted around with her nose in the air and a smug smile, Sasuke was the furthest thing from happy. He itched to kill his wife, but he needed a legit reason that would appease the clan's high council, and it had to be something big that could never be forgiven; he didn't even remember everything that resulted in their marriage. It all happened at a wedding between his best friend, Gaara, and his distant cousin, Neji; one minute he was dancing with…someone he couldn't remember properly no matter how much he tried, and the next thing he knew, it was late morning, his head was pounding, and he was in his given room naked with no memory. No one saw anything, and it was suspicious that he had a hangover, because he only drank two alcoholic drinks: one at the actual ceremony and one during dinner to toast.

He had only been home a month when a man named Haruno Kizashi came to the Uchiha compound raving about how his daughter claimed to be pregnant with Sasuke's child, and that it happened at the wedding. One of Sasuke's friends, Shikamaru, had brought his friends, Chouji and Ino, when he was invited, and Ino had brought her friend, Sakura; according to Sakura, Sasuke had too much to drink and took Sakura to his bed. Ino, being of a lower rank, but respectable clan, blamed _Sakura_ for not having the sense to refuse Sasuke in his inebriated state; if it weren't for the fact that she was pregnant, Sakura would have been killed by the clan. To her relief and joy, and to Sasuke's dismay, they were made to get married to legitimize the baby before the birth. Sasuke was so mad about it all; he was the second born in his family, his older brother, Itachi, was the head of the clan as their father was dead, and due to not being married with no children, Sasuke was his named heir.

The clan laws stated that in the event of a younger sibling born to the head family being named the standing heir, they need to be married and produce a child, preferably a son, to affirm their position. Sasuke was sixteen when he got married to Sakura; she was the same age as him. Now they were twenty-four, and still didn't have a child; Sakura had miscarried before the end of her first trimester. Sasuke had hoped that he and Sakura would be divorced after, but another law killed that hope; it basically said that the clan required a future heir, a child, and because Sasuke was married, he had to be the one to provide in the meantime while his brother remained unmarried; joy for him. The more frustrating part about it all was that they had been married eight years, Sakura had gotten pregnant five or six times, only to miscarry within the first trimester, and yet Sasuke still couldn't divorce from her.

What really hurt though, what really got to him, was that Sasuke wanted to be a father after a few years; Sasuke was an accomplished Shinobi for Konohagakure and became a squad leader at twenty-one. He was given a Genin squad and found that he liked being the one to be looked up to by someone who trusted him; he understood how Itachi felt when they were growing up. Sasuke acted as a teacher and a brother to his squad; he taught them everything he learned from his family, mainly Itachi, and his old sensei, Kakashi, that he could teach them at their level and in general. It made him want a child of his own to teach the same things to, but something was wrong with Sakura that caused her to miscarry every time; did the gods hate him that much? Were the miscarriages punishment for forgetting himself than night at Gaara's wedding?

What did he have to do make up for his mistake?

҉

Sasuke yawned as he woke up late in the morning. His joints ached, and his muscles were stiff from his hard, impromptu training session; Sakura had miscarried _again_. Sasuke gave orders for Sakura to be watched carefully, and he thought she would actually carry past the first trimester, but in the middle of the day… He didn't know how much more he could take of this; something needed to change soon, or he would finally snap and just kill Sakura. She clearly felt nothing about losing the children she carried, she just apologized to Sasuke then went on with her life while the Uchiha heir mourned each lost chance to raise and nurture a new life that was part of him. His only stable support was his brother, and brother-in-law, Deidara, they always gave him a shoulder to cry on when he needed.

"Sasuke-kun, are you awake?" a soft voice called through his door.

"Come in, Deidara-Aniki." He responded.

The door opened, and in stepped Sasuke's brother-in-law; Deidara had long, sunflower blond hair with bangs pulled over to cover the left side of his face, and powder-blue eyes, he wore a plum yukata that had no sleeves or upper back, so it looked as if it went around the back of his neck then crossed over his chest leading to the skirts that fell to his shins and had a slit of his left leg; the style was typical of an _Ikiru Dansei_. He did wear the usual mesh top and shorts that shinobi wore, along with tool packs, and instead of an obi around his waist, he had a belt that carried an extra pouch; on his hands were elbow-length fingerless gloves that mainly covered his palms.

Deidara married Itachi when Sasuke was eighteen; Itachi had accompanied their previous Hokage to the Earth Nation to discuss a trade agreement with the Tsuchikage, and during the welcoming feast, a foolish shinobi thought it would be a good idea to try and kill Itachi. Being of one of the strongest clans in the Fire Nation, of course killing the head of the Uchiha would be smiled upon by their enemies. But that wasn't what the Tsuchikage wanted; as an apology, he offered one of his own shinobi, Deidara, to become his bride in order to further strengthen the alliance between Earth and Fire. Itachi wanted to decline, not wanting to trap someone in marriage as they didn't know each other at all, but the Hokage agreed for him and they were married right on the spot; Itachi felt really guilty, and Deidara was pissed. When they came back to the Uchiha compound, Sasuke empathized with both of them; two more poor souls in the same boat as him: trapped in a loveless marriage against their will. It seemed like they would all drown if things didn't improve.

But, like always, ever since they were children, Itachi got all the luck; Deidara spent months hating Itachi while the Uchiha lord was patient and civil, giving the blond his space when he needed it (all the time), and never pressuring him. At some point in their married life, Itachi fell in love with Deidara, and slowly started to increase his efforts to get his _konsouto_ to accept him, but things still weren't going well at all; Deidara's rage only grew and it caused Itachi pain that affected him so. Sasuke hated seeing it, so he did something he avoided doing whenever he could since the day Deidara first arrived: he talked to the blond and convinced him to finally talk to Itachi about everything so that they could put everything to rest and start anew. Slowly, Deidara fell in love with Itachi, he smiled and joked around, and became a second brother to Sasuke; he liked to prank Sakura often by leaving little clay creatures he controlled with chakra anywhere she went and blew them up. Not enough to hurt her (he was scolded by his mother-in-law the first time), just enough to scare the bejeezus out of her when she got really annoying, which was all the time.

Still, Sasuke was alone in his boat again with only a rope to keep him tethered to the dock; it was going to break soon, and he was going to drift away if something didn't change.

Deidara went over to Sasuke's bedside and sat down by him.

"How did you sleep?" he asked running a hand through the younger's hair.

"Not good… I had that dream again. I heard them all crying… I couldn't help them no matter how much they begged…"

"Hey now, it'll turn around one day." The blond assured "For now, your brother is in the bath. Go relax with him. You're obviously stiff after you all the steam you blew last night."

Sasuke gave a small smile and nodded.

Deidara smiled back warmly and tussled the dark locks.

"Lunch will be served once you two are done." He said standing up and going to leave the room "See you then."

Sasuke waved shortly and got out of bed once his door closed. He grabbed the yukata he didn't sleep in the previous night having chosen to sleep naked and put it on then left his room to make his way to the bath for some quality time with his brother. Along his walk down the hall, he crossed paths with the current bane of his existence, his wife-by-force, Sakura.

"Sasuke-kun! Why weren't you at breakfast this morning? Your mother was disappointed!"

Sasuke's eye twitched at the nerve-grating voice she possessed; after all these years he was surprised no one had gone deaf from hearing her shriek.

"Haruno, lower your voice. And she wasn't disappointed. Don't act like you understand my family. And I told you, you don't have permission to address me so informally."

Sakura flinched at being referred to by her maiden name; eight years of marriage and she hadn't been honored with the Uchiha name and crest, and she didn't understand why. Sasuke married her, yet he didn't petition his brother or the clan elders for the right for her to become a fully acknowledged Uchiha wife. Why not?! She loved Sasuke, why didn't he love her?! She was a perfect wife! And why didn't he want her to call him as she had?!

Before she could open her mouth again, Sasuke brushed right passed her and headed to the bath; he was positive that if he stayed to listen to her anymore then he would likely kill her. He was at the end of his rope with Sakura because of all this; she didn't love him, she was like all the other girls who vied for his attention. He was ready to resign himself to give up hope in achieving what Itachi had with Deidara…

"Oh, Sasuke."

He looked up to see his mother, Mikoto. She was truly a beautiful woman; pale skin like porcelain, black eyes like jewels, and long black hair. Everyone said Sasuke looked just like her, and they were probably right.

"Hello, Mother. I'm sorry I wasn't – "

"Don't."

She pulled him into a warm embrace, "Don't apologize for your suffering. Ever."

Sasuke let out a breath and leaned into his mother's arms; Sakura didn't know his family at all.

"Go on and bathe. I'll see you at lunch, and again at dinner." Mikoto said.

She kissed his cheek and sent him ahead to the bath.

"My precious baby, so brave. I pray you will achieve your happiness at last…"

҉

Itachi looked like he was relaxing in the bath, but his mind was in turmoil.

Once again, his younger brother lost his unborn child, and Sakura acted like nothing happened while Sasuke mourned another lost chance at fatherhood and happiness, and all because of a mistake he couldn't remember…

"Father, are you punishing Sasuke from the afterlife?"

"You know, talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity."

The Uchiha lord sat up and looked to the door Sasuke had just walked through, and he gave a small, sympathetic smile.

"Good afternoon, Otouto. Are you feeling better after last night?" he asked.

"A bit, but I'm still stiff. I was just too exhausted, physically, mentally, and emotionally to take care of myself." Sasuke said as he stepped into the hot water.

His relief was obvious as his muscles and joints began to relax, and his soreness began to ease; he needed this. He sat down close to Itachi and leaned back against the edge like his brother was doing; he took a breath and ducked into the water completely letting the heat surround him and melt everything from the previous day melt away, not that it did anything about his still lingering pain. He came back up and shook excess water from his hair gaining an indignant yelp from his older brother.

"I swear! You let the Inuzuka clan rub off on you!" Itachi growled.

Sasuke couldn't help it, he let out a full-belly laugh; he had actually forgotten he was sharing a bath with Itachi and got his brother wet with his shaking himself out like a dog. He needed that and Itachi couldn't help but smile at seeing his brother laugh so sincerely.

"Fine, you had your laugh at my expense. Now let's finish our bath and go eat." Itachi pushed him under for a moment then let him back up.

Sasuke laughed then proceeded to wash his body and hair while once in a while splashing Itachi for the fun of it, and Itachi splashed back; moments like this, when they had the privacy to let go and have fun, act like children as they used to long ago, were times they cherished as they didn't have many these days.

Growing up, Sasuke worshipped Itachi as if he hung the heavens; he wanted to be just like his older brother in every possible way. Itachi was revered as a genius and had their entire clan and the whole village kissing his feet because of his prowess and skill, but that also left Sasuke in his shadow despite his potential. Itachi noticed though and did all he could to nurture it just knowing that Sasuke would make a name for himself, and he did; too bad their father didn't live long enough to see it.

After they finished bathing, dried and dressed, they went to their smaller dining room for lunch finding Deidara, Mikoto, and Sakura already waiting for them; Mikoto was sitting on one end of the table across from where Itachi took his place, and Sakura was sitting to her left. Sasuke sat to Itachi's right across from Deidara as far from Sakura as he could get; if she tried to talk to him or made a move towards him, he would likely hurt her.

"Do you both feel better now?" Mikoto asked.

"Yes, Mother. Thank you." Itachi and Sasuke said at the same time.

"You certainly look better, Sasuke-kun." Deidara smiled.

Sasuke smiled back, "Well, a good bath always helps."

Sakura suddenly latched onto his arm pressing against his side, "What are we going to do today, Sasuke-kun?"

The Uchiha heir glared at her, but before he could say anything, Mikoto interjected.

"You won't be anything with him today. Hokage- _Okugata_ has summoned him." She said holding out a missive with the Hokage's seal on it.

Sasuke reached out and took the missive opening it immediately to read the contents; he mentally let out a sigh of relief at seeing that Tsunade-Hime had summoned him.

"I'll head out to see her once I've eaten. Thank you, Mother." He said.

Sakura pouted, "But Sasuke-kun-!"

"You will keep your distance, Haruno." He said firmly.

Sakura backed away from him feeling the temperature of the air around her drop; why was he so cold to her?

Sasuke let out a sigh and hoped that something good would happen today.

As soon as he had finished his meal and bid his family goodbye, Sasuke had practically ran out of the house and made his way out of the compound to the Hokage's tower with only the slightest curiosity as to why Tsunade-Hime had summoned him. He was just glad to get away from Sakura before he hurt her, but now that he had a few minutes, he had to wonder why she was summoning him on his day off. Was it about a mission? Well, he wouldn't know until he got there and asked; he just hoped she wasn't hungover _again_.

҉

Tsunade-Hime was a descendant of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, she was actually his granddaughter, and was one of the Konoha's legendary Sanin; she drank, gambled, had beyond comparable skills in medical ninjutsu, and a ridiculous level of superhuman strength. She was a formidable shinobi, and scary enough to scare even his ancestor, Uchiha Madara were he still around today. No one dare anger or challenge her if they could help it; those who had tried only ended up in the hospital as her patients. Despite her age, Tsunade was a beauty (thanks to a jutsu these days), with long, blond hair and bangs framing her face, and amber brown eyes, though many men liked to ogle her sizable chest that young women were very envious of.

Currently, she was being lazy in her office, letting her paperwork pile up while she sipped saké like water totally ignoring her subordinate, Shizune's constant whining about how Tsunade needed to get to work. When she heard someone knock on her door, she hurriedly hid the bottle and cup under her desk.

"Yeah, come in!" she called straightening herself out quickly.

Sasuke came in and bowed in respect, "You summoned me, Hokage-Okugata?"

"Oh, it's you, Sasuke." She sighed in relief "I'm glad you wasted no time in coming. Before I tell you why I summoned you here, I first want to give my condolences for your lost child."

"Hn. Thank you, Tsunade-Hime. I appreciate your sympathy." He nodded.

"Now then, to business. A while ago, I met with the council of your clan and they expressed concern in your _wife_ ," she sneered briefly "Not being able to carry to term as she's expected to. So, they asked my assistance in solving this dilemma."

She smiled at Sasuke and he blinked, the only sign of his curiosity that he was willing to show.

"We agreed that the best suited solution is for you to take another bride. One that is healthy in fertility, and worthy of the Uchiha clan. In fact, I have picked one for you that I believe fits both those qualities. You can't toss Sakura out on her ass, unfortunately, but I have picked someone for you that comes from a noble shinobi clan. An Ikiru Dansei, my grandson in fact." She explained.

That caught Sasuke by surprise completely; he almost fell over.

"Your grandson?! Tsunade-Hime, why are you offering your grandson? And to me of all people?" he asked in complete surprise.

She couldn't help but laugh softly at his reaction; as far as she knew, it was uncommon for Sasuke to be so expressive.

"Well, Naruto has had many marriage proposals, but my son-in-law turned each and every one of them down for one reason or another. The difference between them and you, however, is that you have heard nothing about him until this meeting. If you and he marry, you can base your relationship on more than just the reputation of your family names; the Uzumaki clan hasn't heard of the Uchiha either, you see."

Now that was a surprise; how did they not know about the Uchiha?

"The Uzumaki clan lives in Uzushiogakure, an island settlement to the east of the Fire Country. They're quite isolated from the rest of the world, so they aren't in the know about a lot. In return, you haven't heard of the Uzumaki clan, and know no more about them than they the Uchiha, so this will give you both blank canvases to work with."

Sasuke thought about it; Sakura was from Konohagakure, so she knew as much about the prestige of the Uchiha clan as the next person, and there was little doubt in his mind that, that was her reason for marrying him. But this Naruto had his own prestige, and apparently came from his own high standing family, so they wouldn't gain anything more from marrying each other. Like Tsunade had said, it would be like starting with a blank canvas for them; this could be worth a try.

"Tell me, what does Naruto-Ouji look like?" he asked.

Tsunade smiled and picked up one of the picture frames from her desk handing it to Sasuke; it showed a young man with shining, wildly styled, blond hair, glowing blue eyes that seemed to shame both the sky and sea, sun-kissed skin, and three whiskers on both cheeks. His smile was like the sun, and he had a clear fire in his eyes that spoke volumes about his inner determination; his father, Fugaku, would say he is an ideal candidate of an Uchiha bride. And Sasuke would be lying to himself if he said his heart didn't give a little jump at seeing that smile.

"Well, I don't see why we can't at least meet each other. How long will you want us to spend to get to know each other, and which of us will travel where?" he said.

"Excellent! I'm glad you're willing. Since you still have work here, and there's no way in hell Sakura will sit idle while you travel, I'll send for Naruto to be brought here for a month-long visit. Once word is received, it will take them week to reach the village. They'll stay with me, but you and Naruto will spend time together as much as possible; your missions don't stop just because of this you know." She smirked at the end.

Sasuke gave a brief chuckle, "Of course, Tsunade-Hime. Is that all, or do you have a mission to assign to me as well?"

"Not today. Go see your Genin if you need to." She frowned at the piles of papers on her desk "I have to deal with this crap, as well as send the letter inviting them…"

The Uchiha resisted the urge to laugh and returned the picture frame then bowed and left; he was in much higher spirits now.

҉

In the island village of Uzushiogakure, in the garden of the main house, a young man and woman were roughhousing, all in good fun, while another young man watched in amusement. The young man watching had deep, red hair that fell to just above his shoulders, bangs covering the right half of his face but showing that he had violet eyes; he wore a blue-gray yukata that fell to his knees with mesh mail underneath. The other young man was blond, had bright, blue eyes, and wore a black one-piece jumpsuit with no sleeves and legs that only went to mid-thigh, and over that he wore a short, black and orange yukata. The one woman had red hair like the man watching them and styled long on the left side while the right was short and choppy, and red eyes behind red-framed glasses, and she wore a sleeveless, lavender yukata that was tied loosely showing her mesh-mail clothes. They were brothers and sister, the children of the village and clan heads, Nagato being the oldest, and Naruto and Karin being twins.

"Ha! Pinned ya, Naruto!" the girl, Karin cheered.

"No fair! You cheated!" the blond denied.

"Alright, you two. Let's get inside for lunch; we're late." Nagato said.

Naruto suddenly threw Karin off with no problem and dashed into the house.

Karin huffed as she stood up dusting herself off and fixing her glasses.

"Hmph. Mention food, and he has no issues fighting back and moves like a cheetah."

Nagato laughed as he stood up, "Well, that's what makes him Naruto, and we love him for it."

"Yeah, well, I hope whoever he marries will have the same thoughts." Karin said as she followed her older brother inside.

They went to the smallest of their dining rooms always used for meals when it was just them and their parents; Naruto was already sitting at the table next to a blond man who looked just like him, but his bangs were longer to frame his face, and he wore a white kimono that flared out from his waist with a scarlet fire design taking up a quarter portion of the bottom. He was the teens' mother, Minato. On his right was a man with ruby-red eyes outline with just enough eyeliner to be noticed and enhance the color, and long, fiery red hair in a high ponytail split into nine sections by gold cuff beads about two inches long holding the ends; sitting on the pillow at the table, his hair rested on the floor. He wore a plain, crimson haori left open to show his mesh-mail shirt, and black hamaka pants; this was the Uzumaki lord, Kurama.

"Good. Now we're all here, we can eat." Minato smiled.

"Ramen!" Naruto cheered as two maids brought out their food.

"You and ramen…" Karin grumbled.

Naruto just stuck his tongue out as a bowl of his favorite miso and barbeque pork ramen topped with menma was set in front of him; Karin got some spicy tuna rolls, Nagato got _toriten_ , Minato got _donburi_ , and Kurama got _nikujaga_ and a letter.

Kurama picked up the letter looking at the seal.

"Oh, it's from your mother in Konoha, Minato." He said opening it.

Minato perked up and took the letter before his husband could even read one word and began reading it himself.

"Oh, well it isn't a casual letter. She's proposing a possible marriage. For Naruto." He said.

There were two beats of stunned silence before his family gave the same reaction: a synchronized shout of, "WHAT?!"

Seeing as two sources of the shouts were right in his ears, Minato's immediate reaction was to hit both his husband and youngest son over their heads.

"Minato!"

"Mama!"

They were both rubbing the sore spots on their heads.

"Then don't shout right in my ears." He shrugged.

"Well, Mom, can you blame them? Can you blame us? Baa-chan sent a marriage proposal, and you don't care!" Nagato said.

Minato looked around the table at his family and shrugged, "Yes, and the Uchiha are a good clan. I knew a few of them when I was growing up in Konoha."

Kurama sighed, "Who's the suitor?"

Frankly, he didn't like the idea of marrying his youngest son off, especially right now; Nagato was engaged already, and Kurama was reluctant about that one too! The irony in that was the fiancé was of his own clan. Hey, the man loved his children and he didn't want to let them go, not even to marry. Yes, he wanted to see them find their own happiness and start their own families, see his grandchildren, but the idea of them being in the care of someone else… He was a typical, loving father.

"His name is Sasuke. He already has a wife, but-!"

"What?" Kurama interrupted him "Did you just say he's already married?"

The blond glared at him, "Let me finish, or I'll cut your hair."

The redhead lord squeaked (though he wouldn't admit it if anyone asked) and covered his head; if there was anything he loved as much as his family, it was his hair.

"He's married, but she's from a common family, not even a clan, and she's unable to carry a child past the first trimester. The council of the Uchiha clan is old, practically ancient, and won't just let him divorce the girl, so they just said to find him another, worthier, wife or _teishu_. Now, I trust my mother's judgment, and she must see something in this boy that makes her believe he is good enough for our son, which is why she invited us all to go to Konoha and meet him."

Nagato looked confused, "I thought you said it was a proposal?"

"No, sweetheart. I said a _possible_ marriage proposal. She's letting Naruto decide for himself by inviting us to my home village." Minato said.

"Really? It's up to me? But what about his current marriage?" Naruto asked.

Minato rolled his eyes; he knew how that old council of the Uchiha clan worked, and it annoyed him. He knew Fugaku and Mikoto at the Academy, and he knew all the Uchiha clan rules; some he could appreciate, others he felt needed to be changed, or tossed completely. The rule concerning this particular case rarely came into play: multiple marriage was for the purpose of creating strong ties, or, more commonly, if the first wife or teishu was in some way incapable of fulfilling their expected duties. To save face, the first was always kept unless they did something that was shameful enough to be thrown out, or even killed.

"She's a commoner girl. If Naruto chooses to marry Sasuke, he will have to share, but he will have more standing. But it's still up to you, Naruto. Do you want to go to Konoha and meet Sasuke-Ouji?" Minato asked his youngest son.

Naruto looked down at the table but wasn't seeing it as he thought over the question; did he want to meet this man? Who was he anyway? The Uzumaki had never heard of the Uchiha, and his mother could only tell him so much based on what he knew before he married Kurama; the only way to have all his questions answered was to go to Konoha himself.

He raised his head looking at his parents and nodded.

"Let's go. I want to meet him for myself and decided."

"Hey, if Naruto's going, then I want to go too!" Karin exclaimed.

"So do I." Nagato agreed "After all, we should know who Baa-chan is trying to marry Naruto off to."

The one daughter nodded, "Well said, _Ani_! As Naruto's siblings, it is our right to threaten the potential brother-in-law."

Kurama snickered, "That's my girl. Alright then, Minato, once we've finished lunch, write a response to _Meiyo aru haha_ telling her we will be coming. I'll send for Sai and Yahiko telling them they will be accompanying us on the trip as well. How long is she expecting us to stay?"

"A month. I suppose at the end, Naruto will decide if he wishes to pursue or deny the proposal." The older blond answered.

Kurama nodded, "It's settled then. Let's enjoy our meal."

"Seconds, please!" Naruto suddenly called out cheerfully while holding up is empty bowl.

"Naruto, for goodness sake!" Karin griped.

҉

Three days after Tsunade proposed the idea of a second marriage to Sasuke, Itachi received another missive from her; the lord of the Uzumaki clan and his family were coming to Konoha so Naruto and Sasuke could meet; they would arrive in the village in a week once they had necessary affairs in order and come to the compound the day after their arrival to allow them to rest and settle. That would be plenty of time to prepare the house for their visit, and to drill into Sakura's head that she had better behave herself if she knew what's good for her; Sasuke's last nerve was ready to snap as it was, gods knew what he would do to her if she said the wrong thing and embarrassed him. She didn't know of this plan yet, and neither did Deidara and their mother as Sasuke thought it best to only have him know for the time being until they received an answer from the other party involved in this whole thing; now that they had an answer, it was time to tell the others. Hell was going to break loose, but better sooner than later; boy was Itachi going to have to really put his foot down on this matter. His poor brother…

"Itachi-koi."

He looked up from the missive seeing Deidara standing in front of his desk with his family and Sakura a little ways behind him.

"Oh, good. You're all here."

He gestured for Deidara to come around the desk and stand beside him, which the blond did, and even pecked his cheek.

"Sasuke, I received a message from Tsunade-Hime regarding the matter she wanted to speak to you about the other day." He started.

Sasuke's interest was piqued while the others looked at the Uchiha lord in confusion.

"Mother, Deidara, Haruno, we will soon be playing host to Tsunade-Hime's family. Her son, Minato-Konsouto, his husband, Uzumaki- _Omo_ , and their three children, Nagato-Ouji, Karin-Hime, and Naruto-Ouji are coming from the island nation of Uzushiogakure so that Naruto-Ouji can meet Sasuke." He explained.

"To meet Sasuke?" Mikoto repeated looking at her second son "Is this visit related to the audience you had with Tsunade-Hime?"

Sasuke nodded, "The reason she wanted to see me was because the council went to her about their concerns of …my situation and asked if she could provide a solution. She offered the notion of a second marriage, offering Naruto-Ouji as a bride."

"WHAT?!" Sakura shriek becoming enraged.

How dare the Hokage and the council do such a thing! _She_ was Sasuke's wife! Her, and her alone! He didn't need anyone else! She was perfect, if they would just open their eyes and actually see! To offer another bride, a _male_ yet, was nothing short of an insult!

"Sasuke-kun, you don't need another bride! Why do they think otherwise?!" she demanded not noticing the glares she was receiving from the others in the room.

Sasuke clenched his hands into fists and took a deep, slow breath through his nose to keep from hurting the woman who had been nothing short of a constant headache and turned to look at her with a cold glare mentally smirking at her flinch.

"Because of you. You haven't been able to give me a child, and the council wants me to have an heir; if you won't give me one then someone else will have to do it. Naruto-Ouji is an Ikiru Dansei, like Deidara-Aniki, and Tsunade-Hime can vouch for his health and fertility." He explained as calmly as he could.

The woman scoffed crossing her arms, her previously existing fear brought by Sasuke's cold gaze now passed.

"All this for a child. Let your brothers produce those things; we don't need to trouble ourselves."

The room went so quiet a pin could be heard dropping; Mikoto and Deidara looked horrified at what Sakura said while Itachi and Sasuke looked ready to kill her. She had basically denied Sasuke children!

"Haruno, you've overstepped your bounds. Go to your room." Itachi growled out.

She glared right back at him, "No! And Sasuke will not be marrying another! Tell them not to trouble themselves by coming."

It would take everything in him not to hit her, but Sasuke knew he had to show her, her place in this house; he took the few steps over to her and grabbed her arm hard not caring about her yelp in pain.

"How dare you make demands to my brother as if he were beneath you. The only way you are a part of this clan is by means of marriage; you are known as my wife, but you have no standing among us beyond that. Even Deidara-Aniki is above you as he was given our name and bears our crest; you will _never_ receive that honor. Now," he forced her to her knees "Apologize to my brother then go to your room. After, you will only come out if I say you can. If you know what's good for you, you won't try my patience any further."

By now, Sakura was shaking as she realized that she let her tongue run away from her and Sasuke sounded like he was ready to spill her blood; she humbled herself immediately and bowed to Itachi and Deidara with her head touching the floor.

"Gomenasai, Uchiha-Omo, Konsouto. I spoke out of line and offended you greatly."

"Just go to your room, and heed Sasuke's words. And in the meantime, I suggest you ingrain into yourself the importance of remembering your standing so that you don't embarrass us in front of our guests; I doubt I can stop Sasuke's actions should you fail in that." Itachi said.

His warning sent a cold shiver down her spine; keeping her head bowed she stood up and backed out of Itachi's study waiting until the door was closed before bolting to her room. Once behind the safety of a closed door, she took a little time to slow her rapidly pounding heart; as much as she hated the idea of Sasuke taking a second bride, especially for the sake of children, she knew that they're warnings were promises and not empty threats. She would indeed be taking the time to school herself in time for the visit; she honestly didn't know who to be more afraid of right now: Itachi, or Sasuke?

When Sakura woke up the next morning and prepared for her bath, she saw the bruise from Sasuke's hand on her arm and felt he fear double; he was cold, and it seemed at times that he wanted to strike her, but he never physically hurt her before. It was always with words, and even that was occasional as he chose to avoid her if he could, but this was just more proof that he was beyond serious.

* * *

 _Ikiru Dansei_ : Life-giving Male; he males of the AU who can carry and birth children are given this label.

 _Konsouto_ : Consort; the title given to the male spouses of the clan heads.

 _Okugata_ : Lady, as a title in high society.

 _Toriten:_ Japanese Tempura style fried chicken.

 _Donburi_ : Rice bowl dish. Fish, meat, vegetables, or other ingredients simmered together and served over rice.

 _Nikujaga_ : Meat, potatoes, and onions stewed in sweetened soy sauce, sometimes with ito konnyaku and vegetables.

 _Teishu_ : Husband; the title given to the males in the submissive role in marriage. Ex: Itachi- husband, Deidara- teishu. (This is how I'm going to avoid any crap the picky readers will throw at writers who want to use the term "wife" for the Ukes.)

 _Meiyo aru haha_ : Honorable Mother; how mother-in-laws will be addressed in the story.

 _Ani_ : Brother.

 **Ikiru Dansei attire:** Because they are the males who are the "woman" in their relationships, so their attire is on the more feminine side.

 **Treatment of Sakura** **:** Back in the days of old, women were treated a lot worse than how Sasuke's treating her. And of course, in some cultures today, women are still treated worse than this. Part of the contributing factors in this case though is that the clan council has expectations that Sakura just isn't meeting and thus the treatment is warranted. **This will be explained more next chapter**.

 **Leave me some nice reviews! Constructive criticism is welcome; NO FLAMES. Seriously, it is so easy to leave a story if you don't like it; there's absolutely no reason to give someone a bunch of crap just because they like to write yaoi and MPreg, and feminize characters. Just click the BACK button if you don't like it, that's why it's there. And if I sounded mean, I'm thinking about the reviewers who told writers to go kill themselves just because they wrote a story with a gay ship.**


	2. Naruto & Sasuke, Windows to the Soul

**I got a good response to my first Naruto story, and my thanks to you is the second chapter!**

 **And a major thanks to the reviewers who supported me against that jerk-off who insulted me; I think they just wrote that review to spite me though, because when I checked out their profile, it was two hours old. They could have made the account just to be a pathetic fuck too, but still. Yeah, I said it! And I'll say this too: anyone wanna say I'm going to Hell, I'll see you there, asswipes! I'm sure you've done something worse than me writing what I like, such as encouraging suicide. I'm living my life the best a can and _not hating_ people just because they exist. I don't hate, I frown upon and dislike, and I frown upon and dislike the narrow minded bigots. I'm sure God smiles on me for having love for my fellow human beings instead of bashing them for existing. I only bash those who deserve it.**

 **Okay, rant's over. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and leave me some nice reviews!**

* * *

Sasuke woke up groggy and foggy-headed; he felt lazy today and just wanted to stay in bed. I wasn't like he had anything important going on today…

There was a knock at his door.

"Sasuke, I hope you're up! Tsunade-Hime will be here with her family for lunch!" his mother called from the other side.

' _Tsunade-Hime… Family…'_

He tossed this around his head a few times before it hit him as suddenly had paper bomb going off: today was the day he was going to meet the Hokage's grandson, Naruto!

He looked at the clock on his nightstand seeing it was almost eight-thirty; lunch would be at one, so that would give him plenty of time to get his nerves under control. Right? Right. He got out of bed and went to the personal shower in his room to start getting ready and, while under that hot spray contemplated why the idea of meeting this boy made him so nervous at all. Sure, the boy had a breath-taking smile, and eyes so blue it shouldn't be natural, but that doesn't mean his stomach should be tossing and turning in itself! Besides, it's not like they could get along right from the start; Naruto could have a nerve-grating voice like Sakura, or a soft voice you had to strain your ears to hear like his other distant cousin, Hinata, and Shino, or an obnoxiously loud voice like Kiba! Plus, he could be stuck-up, or boring as hell!

Or…

Or he could be Sasuke's perfect match.

"Guess I won't know until I meet him." Sasuke sighed as he finished up.

One thing was for sure: he wasn't going to be able to eat much for breakfast.

҉

Naruto had woken up early that morning, before sunrise in fact; his parents, siblings, grandmother, and guards were all still asleep along with the majority of Konoha; when he first saw the village, he was fascinated by the cliffside that had the faces of the five Hokage carved into it. There was his great-grandfather, Senju Hashirama, his great, great-uncle, Senju Tobirama, his grandmother's sensei, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Fourth Hokage who was more trouble than he was worth, and his grandmother, Tsunade; it was like they were all watching over the village. Well, most of them anyway; Karin had asked about why the Fourth's likeness was defaced, and Tsunade had explained that the Fourth Hokage was such a fool that it was a wonder his reign lasted as long as it had. Minato had also tossed in a comment about being a candidate for Fifth Hokage before he'd married Kurama; he could have been the youngest in Konoha history if things worked out differently.

Now that his awe had passed, his mind was now focused on the purpose of this visit: meeting Uchiha Sasuke. He was worried about what kind of person Sasuke was; he had no idea what the guy looked like or who he really was a person. His mother knew Sasuke's parents when they went to the academy together, and he had seen the current Uchiha-Omo as a baby, but that told no one anything about the man he could possibly end up married to; the month-long stay was arranged so he could find out for himself, but at the same time he was practically going into this blind, and it scared him. Maybe when they headed to the compound, he could ask his grandmother some questions.

"Naru-chan, what are you doing up?"

He turned to see his mother standing near him looking like he was still tired, but a little worried all the same.

"Ohaiyo, Mama. I couldn't get back to sleep." He answered.

Minato sat by his son and started running his hand through the blond hair he'd passed on when Naruto was born.

"What's bothering you, my little kit?"

Naruto sighed softly, "Mama, what if this doesn't work out? I would hate it if we came all this way for nothing…"

The older blond couldn't help the loving smile; his son was just too pure and precious for this world sometimes.

"Well, that's why we're here in the first place, Kit. You'll be spending this month getting to know Sasuke to see if this could work at all. Just tell him right from the start you want to know the real him, and in return, let him get to know the real you. And between you and me, I don't think he can resist falling for the real you if given the opportunity." He smirked at the end.

Naruto blushed, "Mama! That's embarrassing!"

Minato laughed, "It's true though!"

"Hey… People aren't completely awake at this hour you know…" the groggy voice of Tsunade said as she made her way to the kitchen.

"Gomen, Okaa-san." Minato said, and he went over knowing that coffee would be needed.

Naruto followed deciding that he may as well help with preparing breakfast; Tsunade didn't keep a kitchen staff for the mornings preferring to eat pastries from the local bakery, but she had her family visiting for the time being, and something that Minato had always done for her when they still lived together was cook breakfast for them in the morning. He still did the same with his own children back in Uzushiongakure, mainly with Naruto, but he made sure all his children knew how to cook for themselves.

"UZUMAKI YAHIKO! GET OUT OF NAGATO'S BED RIGHT NOW!"

"We were just sleeping! I swear!"

Minato sighed, "I better go save Yahiko from Kurama."

He went to the bedroom his oldest was using for the duration of their stay.

Tsunade sighed and let her head hit the wall she was standing closest to, "It's too early for this…"

҉

After avoiding fatherly wrath, sharing a good breakfast, and dressing for the day, Tsunade had been forced to her office by Shizune to clear some of her paperwork before they headed for the Uchiha compound for lunch.

Naruto decided to use the time he had to decide how to make a good impression; he didn't think his signature orange would work, but what other color could he wear that would compliment him? Black and white were more accent colors on him, blue brought out his eyes but clashed with his hair, yellow did work for him, but he felt he would be looked at with distaste; he sighed as he realized he needed Karin's help.

Kami help him.

"Hey, Sis? Could you help me out please?" he called from his door.

Karin seemed to appear out of nowhere and had a big smile on her face that scared the blond.

"But of course, brother dear~ What can I do for you?"

' _I'm regretting this already…'_ he mentally sighed.

"I need help finding an outfit." He said going back into the room.

Karin followed him giggling in a disturbing manner.

"Oh, I'm glad you asked me! I'll make you look irresistible!"

The blond shivered, "Karin, please. Don't start acting like I've become your personal doll. I just want you to help me find a suitable outfit.

"And that's exactly what I'll do!" she nodded pushing up her glasses.

Naruto sighed knowing there was no way Karin would be normal about this and went to sit on his bed.

"Just keep in mind we have a time limit. Once Baa-chan says we have to go, we go." He said watching her go over to his closet.

"I know, I know. Trust me, I'll find something that will make him drool over you!"

Despite being the typical evil sister/twin, Karin genuinely wanted to help Naruto look his best and make this Uchiha Sasuke beg to have Naruto's hand; she already had the perfect outfit in mind in fact. Naruto had been given this beautiful Ikiru Dansei kimono by their grandfather for his fifteenth birthday; it was made of crimson silk with the skirts falling to his shins with flare, and sleeves going to his elbows. Around the bottom was a black fire pattern made of chiffon that had breakaways made to look like blossom petals that circled around the skirts to his hips; the obi was black silk with gold thread weaving through it in the pattern of smoke. It was one of Naruto's favorite kimonos and he was glad it still fit perfectly (not that he grew much since his fifteenth birthday.)

"Where the hell is it? I know you packed- Aha!" she exclaimed pulling out the kimono she had been looking for "No way he won't appreciate you in this!"

The blond had to smile; his twin knew when to look out for him.

"Perfect. Thanks, Karin."

"No problem! Now get dressed! I still need to put myself together."

She put the kimono in his arms and dashed off to her own room to do whatever she needed to do to get herself ready.

Naruto gave a soft laugh while shaking his head fondly; his sister certainly was one of a kind.

҉

Itachi and Deidara stood waiting outside the door of the main house waiting for Sasuke and Mikoto to come out of the house; Itachi was dressed in a black kimono with gold thread sewn along the skirts and hem of the sleeves to made to look as if there was black fire dancing along the cloth and his obi was crimson red. Deidara was wearing a Ikiru Dansei kimono, sea green with ivy patters sewn in goldenrod yellow growing up the skirts and winding round the sleeves, and his obi was coral blue, he tied his hair up in high ponytail with a ribbon that matched the obi keeping his bangs in their usual style over his left eye.

"I dunno about you, but I'm excited about this." Deidara said.

Itachi chuckle, "As am I. Mother told me she knew Minato-konsouto from their days at the academy, and he was said to have features to be admired. A lot of girls were disappointed when they heard he had married to Uzumaki-Omo. Makes me wonder what Naruto-Ouji looks like."

"Sasuke said he only saw a photo Tsunade-Hime keeps. Did you see his eyes when he mentioned it?" the blond snickered.

"Yes, I noticed too." He smiled "You may find this amusing, but I have hope for him."

Deidara smiled, "Yeah. I do too. I just think it's cute that he's already starting to act love-sick."

"I hate these clothes!"

Itachi and Deidara turned at the irritated hiss that was undoubtably Sasuke; they were amused knowing he hated going formal.

Sasuke was wearing a midnight blue kimono with silver dragon scale patterns sewn in along where his legs would be, the sides of his torso, over his chest, and down his arms; it made him look as if were the patterns on his skin, he would look like a dragon who could change its form to human but kept its scales. His obi was white. Mikoto, who had come out with Sasuke, was wearing a plum kimono with red starburst patterns and obi; after them came Sakura wearing a red kimono with a pink obi, it was designed to show cleavage and hugged her figure tightly.

' _No way in hell is some whore going to take Sasuke's attention from me!'_ she thought maliciously, but she kept her face blank.

"But you look so handsome, Otouto." Itachi said.

"That doesn't help the fact that I'm uncomfortable as hell." The younger Uchiha grumbled "The last time I had to dress so formally, it was for Gaara and Neji's wedding. At least I was far more comfortable in those clothes."

"That's because the clothes you wore then were made for you to be comfortable in the desert air." Mikoto reminded.

Sasuke sighed and went to stand on Itachi's other side, his mother took his other side before Sakura could, to which Sakura scowled.

"Uchiha-Omo! The Hokage's carriage is approaching!" an Uchiha shinobi called.

"Almost time." Itachi said.

Sasuke took a breath and watched the carriage approach; aside from the driver, there were two shinobi running along sides, shinobi wearing headbands with Uzushion symbol.

When the carriage stopped in front of them, and they saw the new shinobi better; one had tan skin, red, wild hair, and brown eyes, and the other had skin as white as paper, with black hair and eyes. The first to emerge from the carriage was the Hokage, Tsunade.

"Well, good afternoon everyone! I'm glad to see you were ready for us." She greeted with a smile.

"Welcome, Hokage-Okugata." The Uchihas and Sakura greeted bowing.

"Thank you! Now, may I present to you, my family."

Tsunade stepped to the side and the first to emerge was Kurama; Mikoto remembered him well, having been one of the few from Konoha invited to witness Minato's marriage to him; she was awed by his brilliantly red hair and eyes, and how handsome he was.

"Uzumaki Kurama-Omo?" Itachi presumed.

"Yes, and you are Uchiha Itachi, the youngest lord your clan has seen, correct?" Kurama asked.

"I am. Welcome." Itachi bowed with the others.

"Arigatou." He nodded.

Minato was the next to come out, and he ran right to Mikoto hugging her.

"Miko-chan! I missed you so much! It's been such a long time!"

"Mina-chan! I miss you too!"

She pulled back form the hug enough to look at the blond, "You don't look any older than our academy days, I'm jealous!"

"Oh, don't be silly! You look as beautiful as on your wedding day! Remember how Fugaku kept tripping over his own feet?"

Minato and Mikoto laughed at the memory.

The blond turned to looked at Mikoto's sons, "Are theses your sons? Oh, my goodness! Itachi's grown into quite the man! I haven't seen you since you were a baby!"

Itachi bowed, "I'm glad you remember me, Uzumaki-konsouto."

Minato laughed, "You can call me Minato. And who is at your side?"

"Oh, this is Deidara, my teishu." Itachi smiled at the blond.

"Pleasure to meet you." Deidara bowed giving a warm smile.

"And you." Minato smiled and looked at Sasuke "Wow, you look just like Mikoto!"

Sasuke flushed lightly, "Thank you, uh…"

He was unsure if he could address his mother's old friend casually like Itachi was permitted to.

"Minato is just fine for you too." The blond smiled then turned to the carriage "Nagato, Karin, Naruto. Come out and meet everyone."

Nagato was the first to come out, followed by Karin, and it was obvious that they had more of Kurama than Minato with their red hair; Nagato though, seemed to have a perfect mix of their eyes. Then Naruto stepped out, and Sasuke's breath caught in his throat; that photo he saw did _not_ do him justice.

"Nagato is our oldest, around your age, Sasuke." Minato said.

Naruto looked at Sasuke, the one who looked like Mikoto, and he felt his heart skip; Uchiha Sasuke, he was quite the handsome man.

"Karin and Naruto are twins, soon to be twenty-one."

Sasuke took a breath and stepped forward bowing, "It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Welcome to our home."

"Thank you, Uchiha-Ouji." Kurama nodded to him.

Minato gently nudge Naruto forward, "Go introduce yourself properly."

Naruto nodded and went over to Sasuke, "Uchiha-Ouji, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Sasuke reached for, and gently took Naruto's hand lifting it to kiss the back of his palm making the blond blush.

"It's an honor to meet you too, Uzumaki-Ouji." He smiled kindly.

Naruto blushed bright red, _'Oh gods, he affects me so easily…'_

Itachi could see Sasuke's eyes shining with a light he'd never seen before, it seemed that his brother had already losing his heart to the potential bride. He looked over to Sakura and saw her glaring openly with such hate in her eyes.

' _She better behave, or Sasuke will lash out at her.'_

"Shall we go inside? Lunch is ready by now." Mikoto said.

The others nodded, and they started to head inside, but Sakura chose to be a fool at that moment and ran in front of Naruto smacking his hand out of Sasuke's grasp.

"How dare you touch my husband! Keep your hands to yourself!"

"Haruno!" Sasuke hissed.

Naruto gave her an indifferent look, "Hmm, so you're Haruno Sakura. You're a fool, and you don't know your place. You dishonor the Uchiha clan and embarrass Uchiha-Ouji."

Sakura gasped insulted and raised her hand slapping the blond hard enough to turn his head to the side.

"Intrusive whore!"

 _SMACK!_

Sakura fell to the ground with a bright red bruise forming on her cheek; she looked up seeing Sasuke glaring at her. He had backhanded her.

"You insolent… How dare you insult and strike the prince of another clan. You forget your place! Apologize to our guests!" He ordered.

The woman growled and stood up, "I won't! _I_ am your wife! You don't need anyone else!"

She gestured to herself, "Look at me, Sasuke! I am perfect! _I_ should be the only one you desire!"

"You disgust me." He sneered.

Sakura gasped, "Sasuke… How could you…?"

"Take her to her room. She can't leave it until I say otherwise." He ordered the waiting maids.

They bowed and took Sakura by her arms leading her inside without any complaint from her as she was still in shock.

Sasuke took deep breaths; he was angry and humiliated by Sakura's actions. He could kill her if he had a mind to!

"Sasuke, go calm down. We'll go inside, and you can join us once ready." Itachi said.

"Right." Sasuke nodded then walked off quickly.

Minato looked at Mikoto, "I suppose things will be explained inside?"

She nodded, "And before Sasuke joins us. He hates speaking of it."

Deidara went over to Naruto, "Are you alright?"

Naruto looked at him, "Fine. Thank you."

They went inside and Itachi led them to the formal dining room where lunch had just been set out; the room was designed with a mural of the phoenix, _Suzaku_ flying through the clouds with a trail of fire flowing from his tail. The carpet was plush and a warm lake-red, and the table was black walnut and round with royal-blue cushions to sit on around it; the shouji was left open and they could see the gardens full of moon flowers, lotuses, spider lilies, and wisteria trees with a koi pond.

Itachi went to the head seat of the table and waited for the others to take their seats before sitting himself; Deidara sat to his left, Kurama sat across from Itachi with Minato to his left, Nagato to his right, Karin next to him, and Naruto between her and Tsunade. Mikoto took the seat next to Minato leaving a seat between her and Itachi open for Sasuke when he was ready to join them. The two shinobi guards that ran along side the carriage stood on either side of the room.

"You don't mind Yahiko and Sai, do you?" Kurama asked.

"You mean your guards?" Deidara responded.

"Yes. Yahiko," he gestured to the redhead "Is one of our clansmen and engaged to Nagato. Sai, I'm sure you noticed, isn't an Uzumaki. Some of our shinobi found him while out on a mission, and we took him in."

"That was very generous of you." Itachi smiled.

Kurama nodded and took a sip of his tea.

"Hmm. I believed I promised to explain about Haruno. It was when Sasuke was sixteen; he went to act as a witness to the Kazekage's marriage to one of our distant cousins from the Hyuuga clan. Between some point of the reception and the next morning, Sasuke lost track of everything, and a while after he had come home, Haruno came to us claiming my son had drunkenly seduced her to his bed at the wedding and she had fallen pregnant. The council ordered a marriage between them to legitimize the child she was pregnant with; of course, we did have to be sure the child was his as well, but we had to wait until the birth. Unfortunately, she had miscarried." Mikoto explained.

"It is said that one who cannot carry to term is not meant to become a mother." Karin said.

The Uchiha lady nodded in agreement, "So I have begun to believe over these past years. We, especially Sasuke, had hoped that a divorce would be approved of, but as you can see… When Fugaku died and Itachi became the clan head, he named Sasuke his standing heir. The council practically demanded both my sons marry and produce heirs. When Haruno came, they jumped at the opportunity; because Itachi was still unmarried at the time, and Sasuke is still his standing heir, it is Sasuke's duty to the clan to have children to protect the main family's claim to the headship and prevent a power struggle among the branches in case something happens to Itachi and Sasuke. Even if Itachi and Deidara have children of their own, Sasuke is still expected to have children."

"Is that not the expectation of all clan heads all over?" Nagato asked.

"Yes, but the thing is Sasuke wants to be a father, not to please the council, but for his own pride. But Haruno has not carried a single child to term; just over a week ago the day before Tsunade-Hime suggested Sasuke meet Naruto-Ouji, she had miscarried another child." Itachi said finishing the explanation.

Naruto gasped, his heart cried out for Sasuke; the man was ready to be a father and his "loving" wife couldn't even give him that! Maybe it was a good thing that his grandmother had suggested he meet Sasuke and possible marry him; he would give Sasuke children, and he liked the idea of becoming a mother himself. Haruno was practically denying her husband, who she claims to love oh so much, the children he both wanted and needed!

"As if not carrying wasn't enough, she actually doesn't care that she miscarried. I swear every time she lost a baby, she looked relieved. And when she heard of all of you coming, and why, she flipped and said right to Sasuke's face that they didn't need children." Deidara said.

"WHAT?!" was the collective response from Tsunade, the Uzumakis, and Sai.

"If you'll forgive me for saying," Sai said, "She is as heartless as she is ugly."

Deidara, having decided at that moment to take a drink, did a spit take and started laughing gaining weird looks from everyone in the room.

That was the scene Sasuke walked in on.

"Um… Is he okay?"

"I think he finds Sai's blunt honesty amusing." Naruto answered.

"I see…" Sasuke said still watching his brother-in-law as he took his place next to Itachi.

It took a few minutes for Deidara to collect himself, so Naruto took that time to study Sasuke; the first thing he wondered about was his hair, dark and in a natural style that reminded him of the backside of water fowl, but his bangs framed his face nicely. His skin was pale and unblemished, at least his face was; who knew how many scars he had on his body, but his eyes were what really drew Naruto in. They were a fathomless black that seemed to say a lot about him, like how sad he was under all his pride; the sadness Naruto saw pulled at his heart.

' _It has to be because of the marriage he was forced into, it's robbed him of nearly everything… Oba-chan suggested me to be a second bride for a reason, and now that I've seen Sasuke, I hope that as we get to know each other this month, it will prove I'm exactly what he needs. And maybe he could be what I need too…'_

Deidara few deep breaths, "Forgive me. It's just, he said what we all pretty much think about her and I couldn't help myself."

Knowing that his brother-in-law would be thrown into another laughing fit if he asked aloud, Sasuke looked at Itachi with a questioning look to silently convey his inquiry, and Itachi leaned over to whisper the answer.

Sasuke cleared his throat and looked at Sai giving an approving nod that was returned.

"I would ask you to forgive him for being so blunt with his words but considering what happened outside…" Minato said shrugging at the end.

"Right. I apologize that you all had to see me at my worst. I really tried to make a good impression. And I apologize for Haruno's disrespect of all of you. Especially to you, Naruto-Ouji." Sasuke said bowing to the visiting family; having to apologize for Sakura made his blood boil.

"You shouldn't have to apologize to me for her." Naruto said gently.

"Besides, I think you handled the situation just fine." Karin spoke up.

She then fixed Sasuke with a hard look, "Just don't think you can treat Naruto like that."

"If I may say, I do not act in such a manner on a regular basis." Sasuke said giving her a mild glare.

"It's true. All these years Haruno has been annoying us to high heaven, not once has Sasuke gotten physical. He only punishes her verbally if he needs to." Deidara said.

"Well I count that as a plus! Let's eat; this food looks great!" Minato said unable to withstand his hunger any longer.

Mikoto laughed, "I'm so glad you haven't changed!"

The meal passed with a light air full of stories and laughter; Tsunade and her family had no qualms about being themselves in front of the Uchiha's, but Mikoto thought it endearing seeing as she was used to Minato's behavior. Tsunade was indulging herself with Itachi's sake reserves, Kurama was scolding Naruto and Karin for fighting over food, Deidara demonstrated his unique art style, Itachi watched everything with amusement, and Sasuke kept his attention on Naruto.

The Uchiha heir couldn't help but be taken by the spirit the blond had; Naruto just seemed to glow with life and acted so carefree, just a breath of fresh air. But he had to actually speak to Naruto and use subtle tactics to draw out the blond's true self, so he could assess if they were in any way compatible, and he was sure Naruto had the same thoughts. After all, neither of them would want to agree to marry only to find out they can't stand each other.

"Excuse me, Naruto-Ouji?"

Naruto looked at Sasuke upon being addressed.

"Yes?"

"If you are finished eating, would you like to walk with me in the garden?" Sasuke asked standing up.

The blond looked to his parents for permission and received twin nods.

He turned back to Sasuke with a warm smile ready, "I would like that very much."

He stood up from his seat and Sasuke came around the table offering his hand to the other clan heir as one would when simply acting as an escort; as soon as their fingers touched, sparks traveled from the tips and up their arms to their chests causing them to briefly lose their breaths. Was it a sign?

As the two made their way outside, Kurama looked to Sai and nodded for him to follow the two; the pale shinobi nodded and waited for a few beats before heading out. The distance Sai put between them allowed him to keep the two in his sights, but also allowed them a sense of privacy.

"So, tell me, Naruto-Ouji, how do you feel about this possible arrangement?" Sasuke asked.

"Before I answer that, I would like it if you would call me Naruto. Formalities can get annoying after a while don't you think so?" the blond said.

Sasuke had to agree, formalities could be bothersome. And if anything, they could at least become good friends if they didn't marry.

"Then in return, call me Sasuke."

"Deal! Now, to answer your question, I was surprised my grandmother wrote to us with the proposal. She doesn't have much faith in people; it took her so long to start dating my grandfather, and they used to be in squad together. Ironic, huh?" Naruto laughed lightly at the end.

Sasuke chuckled, "Well, not everyone can see that what they want, or need is right in front of their eyes. But still, at least she was able to realize when she did, or you might not be here."

The look on Sasuke's face when he said that last sentence, made Naruto's heart skip; Sasuke was smiling kindly, but his eyes looked as if they held a fear in them at the mention of Naruto not existing. He didn't know if Sasuke realized the fear was there or not, but for a reason he didn't quite understand, Naruto felt his heart warm at the thought that Sasuke preferred him to exist in the world.

"And you, Sasuke? How do you feel about all this?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke felt a gentle pleasure at hearing his name roll off Naruto's tongue, as if he was born to speak it.

"Honestly, I wonder what Tsunade-Hime sees in me to believe I could be a worthy husband for you."

Naruto couldn't help but laugh finding Sasuke's answer amusing.

"Well, there must be so good reasons. Your lineage, your record as a shinobi, your …genetics?" he listed flushing lightly at the end.

Hey, he would be lying if he didn't think Sasuke was attractive; he noticed so when he first laid eyes on the man after arriving to the house. But still, Sasuke's most outstanding feature is his eyes, those dark, well masked, yet oh so expressive eyes…

"I think any child you sire will have to have suitors beaten off with clubs, if you don't mind my being blunt."

Sasuke had to smile at the compliment.

"I don't mind. And if I may be blunt, any child you bear would in need of the same protection. Especially with those eyes."

Naruto blushed, "My eyes?"

"Mm-hmm." The older nodded "I've seen a lot of people with life and determination shining in their eyes, but none of them had it burning as brightly as you seem to have them in your eyes. I can tell you are a fierce and strong shinobi in your village. And the color is just brilliant."

"O-oh! U-um, thank you…" he blushed "Um… could I say something about your eyes…?"

"Huh? My eyes?"

There's an old saying: the eyes are the window to the soul; Sasuke had always taken care to hide all he had inside, ever since he was child and his father expressed nothing but disappointment in him simply because he wasn't gifted at birth like Itachi was. No, Sasuke was seen as the failure second son, and he spent his whole life earning his skills and strength with only Itachi admiring and praising his effort; his mother had tried, but was scolded by the late, previous Uchiha lord for "coddling" him. Could Naruto see…?

"You hide your weaknesses well, but you can't completely hide all the pain you feel. You do have what Oba-chan and the previous Hokage call the will of fire, but I can still see that pain, and it breaks my heart honestly. I mean, you seem to be a good person, and you have to deal with a disrespectful wife, and who knows what else. Karma hasn't been kind to you, and all because of one mistake? How is that fair?"

It was amazing, Naruto could see past his walls? What kind of person was he? Not even Itachi could see all that. Or maybe he could and was kind enough not to pry, but this boy he just met could practically see everything; it warmed his heart to have that kind of understanding given to him. Maybe this could work.

"Naruto, you are a wonder. I'm looking forward to seeing how this month goes." Sasuke said smiling.

Although he felt his face flush, Naruto smiled back.

"I am too, Sasuke."

Sai watched them from a distance and documented everything by drawing; he was a skilled artist, and the head Uzumaki family were his favorite subject. He didn't know about the Uchiha heir, but Naruto never looked at anyone with such a softness in his eyes that he had seen in all the time he knew the blond and it made him curious as to what he was thinking when it came to this Sasuke-Ouji. Then there were his instincts acting up, someone with ill intentions towards his charge was near; he looked up to one of the windows of the house and saw the disrespectful woman, Haruno Sakura. She was glaring death at Naruto, probably thinking about what she could do hurt him again if she found the opportunity.

He chuckled to himself at the idea.

' _She would need to get passed her own husband to accomplish such a thing. Should this work, I won't have to worry about Naruto-Ouji coming to much harm. But still, I will continue to watch how things develop.'_

He looked down at the drawing he made, _'Still, I've never seen Naruto-Ouji look so happy to be with another person before. This will indeed prove to be an interesting month.'_

* * *

 **Suzaku:** In Japan, he is the guardian bird of the South, and one of the four symbols of the Chinese constellations.

 **You'll see I refer to Naruto as a boy at almost twenty-one; in this story he is not yet acknowledged as an adult by shinobi world terms.**

 **Naruto's kimono is a variation of the haori he wore after achieving Sage Mode and went to fight Pein.**

 **Tell me how you think I'm doing with the characters please?**


	3. Konohagakure

**This chapter is dedicated to the awesome Alrye!**

 **Sasuke: The psycho who demanded this chapter after you asked her to read this story?**

 **Nice knowin' ya, Duck Butt.**

 **So, this took forever because work, KHIII (OH MY FEELS!), work, and Persona 5, which I'm still working on.**

 **Deidara: You said work twice.**

 **I own nothing, do I really have to keep saying it?**

 **Kakashi: Legal matters.**

* * *

It had started out as a lazy morning for Naruto; it was now his fourth day in Konoha, and he had spent time with Sasuke when he was available, and so far, he had been having fun in the new village despite only being in his grandmother's house and the Uchiha compound. The first day was his arrival, the second was the official meeting, yesterday he had asked Sasuke to teach him some of the Uchiha history, and today, Sasuke had come to him and Naruto was now running around trying to make himself look good! There was a brief second that he asked himself why he was so worried, as if they had been dating for years already; it could be because he wanted this to work for the sake of a permanent alliance between their villages, or it could be because ever since he officially met Sasuke, his heart felt light, and he felt he finally had a reason to smile brighter… He didn't quite know, but he would have to worry about it later! Sasuke was waiting! Oh, why did they let him in when Naruto wasn't even cute yet?!

"Naruto, can I come in?"

"Ah, Mama! Y-Yeah!" Naruto answered while still running around looking for a decent outfit.

Minato came in and giggled at how his son was running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

"Calm down, Kit. You're stressing yourself out too much over this. You'll only need your Shinobi garb today. Sasuke's taking you around the village."

That made the younger blond pause, "Really? Oh…"

He blushed lightly in embarrassment; he couldn't believe he over thought the whole thing! After all, they had agreed to be real with each other, honest with no pretenses, so why was Naruto so worried about how he looked where Sasuke was concerned?

"Okay, Mama. I'll finish getting ready."

"See you in a bit then." Minato nodded before leaving the room.

Naruto sighed and looked through his wardrobe for his orange and black garb; he pulled out an orange Ikiru Dansei kimono with no sleeves that fell to just above his knees, under that went his mesh armor, a black catsuit with sleeves that went to his elbows and legs that went to the top of his ankles. Then of course, his gloves, shoes, weapon packs, and his headband; he dressed and looked at himself in the mirror.

"This will work… I hope."

He shook his head, "Get it together, Naruto!"

Feeling more confident, Naruto left his room and went to meet Sasuke in the living room; Sai was standing at the end of the hall ready to act as Naruto's guard as usual for the day.

"Good morning, Naruto-Ouji. Are you ready for today?" Sai asked.

"Yep! I'm really excited too! I've been anxious to see the village. I wonder if we'll see any of his friends?" Naruto went on.

There was the sound of fond chuckling as they reached the living room and Naruto blushed at seeing it was coming from Sasuke; the older Shinobi was wearing a blue kimono top and black pants with his Konohagakure headband tied to his white obi.

"I can tell you're excited, Naruto-Ouji." He smiled warmly.

The blond smiled back, "Yes, very. Thanks for taking me out today."

"Of course. I also hope you don't mind, but I need to see my Genin team this afternoon."

"Your team? I look forward to meeting them!"

Sasuke smiled at that, "I'm glad you do. Ready to go?"

Naruto nodded.

"Naruto be back by ten, okay?" Kurama said.

"Hai, Papa."

Sasuke bowed to the family and left with Naruto, Sai following them.

Karin sighed, "Naruto's lucky. I wish I had a guy to dote on me like that. And he's hot!"

"Karin, behave." Nagato scolded.

"I have a right to pout! You're engaged, and Naruto's being courted! Where's my chance at love?!"

"Whatever is between Naruto and Sasuke-Ouji is not love yet, and we don't know if love could even bloom between them in this arrangement." Nagato said.

Minato giggled and Kurama smirked.

"That's what I used to think when I married your father." Minato said smiling at his husband.

Kurama met the blond's eyes and smiled in a way that was only reserved for Minato.

Minato giggled again, "I thought I couldn't love him, but I can't imagine my life without your father. I have no doubt that the same will happen for Naruto and Sasuke."

҉

"So, what will we be doing until we have to meet your team? Just walking around the village?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. You don't mind, do you? You can get to know the village this way so that when you come back, you won't need a guide."

"That would actually be great! Thank you!" the younger smiled brightly.

Sasuke chuckled, "And it's likely you'll meet some of my old classmates too."

Naruto became more excited, "That sounds wonderful! I would love to meet them!"

Then he became nervous.

"Um… Do you think they will like me once they meet me?"

"I certainly don't see why not. If they don't like you, something is wrong."

The blond giggled, "Thank you for thinking so. But you must accept that their opinions are their own and you can't force what they think to change."

Sasuke smiled, "Right. But Naruto, that exactly is why there should be no reason for anyone to not like you."

He blushed, "O-Oh… I see. Thank you, Sasuke."

"Hey, Sasuke!"

Naruto and Sasuke both looked ahead of them seeing a Kunoichi with long, pale blonde hair tied up in a high ponytail and falling to her backside and some bangs covering the right half of her face, pale blue eyes, and she wore a purple two-piece outfit; the top was sleeveless with a turtleneck collar and falling to the end of her ribs, and the skirt fell halfway to her knees splitting right up the front showing her mesh armor.

"Good morning, Ino!" Sasuke greeted.

The two clan princes went over to her.

"Naruto, this is Ino-Hime of Yamanaka clan. Ino, this is Naruto-Ouji of the Uzumaki clan in Uzushiongakure. He's visiting for the month." Sasuke introduced.

"Really? Well, pleasure to meet you, Uzumaki-Ouji." She bowed to him.

Naruto bowed back smiling, "And you too, Yamanaka-Hime. You can just call me Naruto."

Ino returned the smile, "Alright, then you can call me Ino. Now that that's all out of the way, what are you really doing here?"

"W-wha?"

"Ino, don't." Sasuke groaned.

"What? C'mon, Sasuke. Someone from another village shows up, and you're his escort? I may be blonde, but I'm not dumb. Something's up, and as one of your old friends, I want to know what." She demanded gently while leaning forward with her hands on her hips.

Seeing this, Sai decided to come closer, but when he was close enough to see Ino, he felt his breath hitch; she was beautiful! Much more so than that harpy with the giant forehead, and her aura was calming and pleasant. Why couldn't Sasuke have married- No! For some reason, the idea made Sai angry; strange, he never felt something so intense before…

"Um, excuse me, Uzumaki-Ouji, is this woman bothering you?" Said asked once he got himself together.

"Eh?" Naruto looked back at his guard "Oh, no. She's only one of Sasuke's friends. She's fine, Sai."

Ino looked at Sai and immediately wanted to freak out; how was he so pale?!

"Ino, this is Sai, my bodyguard. Sai, Ino is the princess of the Yamanaka clan." Naruto introduced.

"Oh, forgive me, Yamanaka-Hime." Sai smiled bowing to her.

"Uh, sure. No problem." She blushed lightly.

' _For a blank face, he sure is charming…'_

Sasuke smirked to himself seeing the whole scene.

"Anyway, we need to get going. I'm showing Naruto around, and I have to meet my team soon."

"Oh, well don't let me hold you up then! I'll see you guys around!" Ino waved them off looking thoroughly embarrassed.

The Uchiha heir chuckled ushering Naruto ahead, "Right. Bye, Ino."

Ino watched them going on ahead unable to help the thought that Sasuke and Naruto made a nice couple- Wait…

"Hey! You totally dodged my question! Get back here, Uchiha Sasuke!" She called after the now running trio.

She was sure Sasuke was laughing at her expense.

"Sasuke, was that smart?" Naruto asked as they went ahead.

"Don't worry, she'll get over it."

"She's quite feisty, like the Kunoichi back home. But far more pleasant than the banshee you are unfortunate to have for a wife." Sai commented.

Naruto looked back at his guard with a glare ready to scold him until Sasuke started chuckling again; he looked at the man noticing how he seemed lighter when smiling and just enjoying himself. He had to wonder how long it had been since Sasuke was able to really enjoy just being; he would ask Itachi, Deidara, or Mikoto later.

Once he was sure they were far enough away, Sasuke stopped them.

"Well, she'll be coming after me later." The older Shinobi chuckled.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at him, "And you aren't worried? Women can be scary."

Sasuke just smirked, "You've only seen my mother's pleasant side. If you've seen her "mothering" side, and in Shinobi mode, you'd see why other women don't scare me anymore than a leaf skittering across the ground."

"That bad?" Naruto swallowed.

"All mothers can be, especially when it comes to their children. I'm sure your mother has had moments."

That's when Naruto curled into a ball and an atmosphere of gloom settled over him.

"Uh… Naruto?"

"You have _no_ idea how scary my mother can be…"

"That bad, huh?"

The blond looked at him looking as if he had witnessed something truly horrible.

"Have you ever experienced the fear of the gods?"

That's when _Sasuke_ shivered, "You haven't seen my brother in ANBU mode… The crazy thing is, he's always had that side to him. Being a genius and all, he had the potential to become Hokage if he wanted to."

Naruto's eyes widened, "He could have? Why hadn't he? Because he became Uchiha-Omo?"

"No, me. I always thought I had held him back from the ultimate goal in his life. But when I brought this up to him, he laughed, and told me that his purpose in life was helping me reach my ultimate goal." He smiled at the end.

"Really? He's a really good brother to put you first." Naruto smiled back.

"Yeah. I owe a lot to Itachi… But enough about that. I promised to show you Konoha."

He held a hand out to the blond and Naruto took it allowing himself to be led on to see the home of his mother, grandmother, and great-grandfather.

As they walked, Naruto noticed how the people they passed smiled at them bowing their heads or waving, some even addressed Sasuke casually by name; passing Genin greeted him as "Sasuke-sensei" which Naruto found kind of cute.

"The people really like you." The blond commented.

Sasuke shrugged, "I guess so. Hard to pick out the sincere ones sometimes."

Naruto looked at him curiously.

The older Shinobi was silent for only a few moments before he decided to explain.

"Itachi was the one everyone admired. When he felt the need to leave the compound, I would tag along like a puppy. Itachi would introduce me, and people would praise him for being a kind and doting older brother. They smiled, but their eyes were cold too. Very few actually looked at us in admiration. I stopped trying to find the truths among the lies…"

Then he smiled, "But the students always hold the truth in their eyes, so I'm glad to teach them if I can."

Naruto smiled at that too.

"You know, Sasuke, I believe you're a great teacher. I have yet to meet your team, and I can already see that."

He chuckled softly, "Thank you, Naruto."

҉

Meanwhile, in the Uchiha compound, Itachi and Deidara were enjoying their morning in bed; they had nothing going on for the day, so they decided to just stay in bed.

"I miss these mornings, Dei-chan." Itachi purred nuzzling the blond's neck.

Deidara moaned softly arching against his husband's body.

"Me too, Koi…" he said nipping at Itachi's ear.

Itachi groaned rolling over on top of Deidara and kissed him hard immediately invading the other's mouth with his tongue as he ground their hips together eliciting a needy whine from his teishu; they hadn't had a chance to really make love for a while due to a lot of things going on that needed their attention, along with Haruno annoying everyone ever since Itachi mentioned the Uzumaki's visit and Sasuke's possible second marriage to the second prince. The stress relief was long needed, and it was going to happen!

…Until someone started pounding on their door, and they both had an idea as to who it was; Itachi was ready to kill.

"Stay. We'll need this after I'm done with her." He growled getting up.

He wanted to get back into bed when he heard Deidara whine and yell through the door for pink nuisance to leave them alone so he could ravish the ridiculously enticing (in his opinion) body in his bed, but everyone and their mothers knew she would not give up until she got what she wanted.

He threw the door open, "What, Haruno?!"

Sakura jumped back at the sheer force and anger behind Itachi's action and voice, but she straightened up and put on a haughty expression.

"Where is Sasuke? He wasn't at breakfast, and I want to spend the day with him."

"He went to see Naruto-Ouji. Since they could possibly end up marrying, they will need to get to know each other as best they could. Now, you will go back to your room, and don't bother us, or my mother again about him. You're pressing your luck as it is."

With that, he slammed the door in her face only catching a quick look at the scandalized shock on her face. He would enjoy it later, because right now his irritation was at a high, and he intended to work the frustrations out through screwing Deidara so much, he wouldn't be able to walk for a week or more. Maybe he could delay the blond's brain function as well.

҉

After seeing as much of the village as they could until Sasuke needed to meet his team, Naruto insisted that they get food for all of them to have once they had a break in their training; the blond couldn't wait to see his potential fiancé in action as a teacher!

"What are their names?" he asked excitedly.

Sasuke chuckled in amusement, "Riku, Takeshi, and Arisa. Riku is the muscle, Takeshi is the strategist, and Arisa is the medical prodigy. Tsunade-Hime hopes to have her as an apprentice once she feels ready."

"Really? That's amazing! I hope it will be soon; Obaa-chan rarely takes on apprentices."

"Don't I know it. Ino tried for a while, and she did fairly well, but decided she wasn't as cut out for the work and left once she learned all she was able to learn. She may not have had the passion to apply all she learned like most medical nin, but she never left things undone once she started. That's why she has my respect, she's dependable."

Naruto smiled at that, "I'm glad to know there are people you can count on in your village. We should be able to count on each other, right?"

"Always depends on the person. But I can assure you that you and your family can count on me, my family, my clan, and the rest of the Rookie Nine."

That made the blond giggle.

"Rookie Nine? You had better explain that one."

"Simple story. My team, Ino's team with the Nara and Akimichi heirs, and my cousin Hinata with the Inuzuka and Aburame clan heirs entered the Chunin Exams the same year we graduated from the academy, and we lived where more experienced Shinobi died. The odds were against us, yet here we are."

"That is incredible." Naruto said completely awed.

Sasuke shrugged it off, "We just got lucky is all, and it managed to hold."

They soon reached the training ground seeing three Genin training with each other, two boys and a girl; one of the boys had long, blond hair tied back, amber eyes, and wore a green short-sleeved shirt under a flack jacket that covered only his chest, dark gray pants, and his headband around his neck. The other boy had orange hair that he kept slicked back, dark blue eyes, and wore a white, long-sleeved shirt under an orchid high-collared vest, black shorts, and his headband was around his forehead in the traditional style. The girl had dark blue hair pulled into a twist-braid over her right shoulder, her eyes were a vibrant green, she wore a powder blue kimono dress with her mesh armor underneath. She wore her headband like a bandana.

The Kunoichi was using a different array of Lightening Release jutsu, while her teammates used Wind and Water respectively, and their skills greatly impressed Naruto; they were like parts of a well-oiled machine that already knew how the other worked.

"There's my team. Arisa's using Lightening, and aside from her promising medical skills, she's a spitfire. She has great talent and quite the attitude; Riku is using Water, and because he's more physical with his techniques he came up with infusing his chakra in his attacks. He was inspired by the Hyuuga Gentle Fist technique, and it's quite effective. And Takeshi is using Wind; he's the tactical mind of the three and his mind rivals Shikamaru's. It took me a while to figure out how to make their skills benefit each other on the field; they'll need it for the Chunin Exams soon." Sasuke explained.

"Their skills are amazing! You're definitely an excellent teacher, Sasuke!" Naruto said happily.

His excited voice was enough to catch the attention of the team and they stopped their training to look over at them.

"Oh, Sasuke-sensei!" Arisa exclaimed happily as she ran over with her team.

"Hey, Sensei! Kakashi-Sensei should take a page out of your book." Riku said.

Takeshi was the only one to take any notice of Naruto.

"Hello, who are you?" he greeted.

"My name is Naruto, and I'm visiting with my family from Uzushiongakure." Naruto smiled.

"Uzushiongakure? Wow! Why are you visiting?" Riku asked.

"Alright you three. Training, remember? Your families and the Hokage are eager to see you get through the exams." Sasuke said successfully diverting their attention.

"Hai, Sensei!" his team nodded and immediately returned to training.

Naruto giggled and looked at the other prince, "They're wonderful, Sasuke. I really like them. And thank you for not revealing the reason behind my visit."

Sasuke smiled back, "Well, it just wouldn't do to have everyone know before we come to a solid decision, right?"

"Right!"

҉

Minato was out on his own reacquainting himself with his home village; very little had seemed to change. He happily returned greetings he received from everyone who recognized him and was quite amused at the shock on everyone's faces; it had been over twenty years since he had left Konoha so it was expected that everyone would make their astonishment known so blatantly, but that didn't mean it wasn't hilarious anyway.

"Minato-Ouji, is that you?"

The blond smiled at the sound of a familiar voice and turned to see two old friends; both were men, one of them being an Ikiru Dansei. One of them had silver hair that ignored the laws of gravity, his headband covered his left eye while his face from the nose down was covered, and he wore the traditional Shinobi attire of blue pants and a shirt with a moss green flack jacket. His companion had brown hair pulled up into a ponytail, his headband also worn traditionally, and he had a scar across his nose; he wore the Ikiru Dansei version of his companion's clothes: the sleeves coming to above his elbows and the legs just below his knees, and the jacket falling halfway down his thighs, being less bulky, and more form fitting.

"Iruka! Kakashi!"

"Yo, Minato! We haven't seen you since your wedding!" the silveret waved as they closed the distance between them.

"I know! You guys haven't really changed. What's happened with you since we last saw each other?" Minato asked.

The brunet smiled and held up his left hand showing a gold wedding band that made Minato's jaw drop.

"No way! To who?"

"Not long after you got married, Kakashi finally grew the balls to ask me out."

The silveret chuckled sheepishly as he showed his own matching wedding band, "We've been married for fifteen years now, and we have a son who will be taking the Chunin Exams for the third time this year. And we have twin girls in the academy."

Minato blinked a few times before he smiled brightly.

"Congratulations! Miko and I were so tired of seeing you two dance around each other, but this is great! So Iruka, does this mean you got Kakashi to kick his addiction?"

Iruka sighed shaking his head, "If anything, it's grown worse. He actually uses those damn books for "inspiration" in the bedroom. What I hate most though, is we wouldn't have our children without them."

"I once again apologize for my father." The blond said bowing.

Kakashi chuckled, "Same Mina-kun. So, what about you? You couldn't have been married this long and not had any kids."

Minato smiled brightly and pulled out a photo of his children to show his friends.

"Nagato is my oldest, and Naruto and Karin are twins."

"Minato, they're beautiful! You have to let us meet them while you're here." Iruka said.

The blond nodded smiling brightly, "Definitely! Actually, an ANBU is escorting them to our old, favorite spot for lunch. On me this time~"

"Deal." Kakashi agreed.

Iruka rolled his eyes, "Remember last time we went to that place, before you got married, we hoped he would actually pay for once?"

Minato nodded looking just as exasperated as his old friend felt.

"I guess it's too much to ask that he'd actually change in some aspects. How in the world did you fall for him?"

"I ask myself that same question every day. Ya know, while we're here, we should get Mikoto to come with us to the spot and just rant to each other about our husbands. I know Fugaku is dead, but I'm sure she has a trove a stories."

"Oh, I'd love to hear them all."

Kakashi watched them as they walked ahead feeling kinda insulted and like it was their Genin and Chunin/Jonin days again.

"I'm still here you know!" he reminded as he chased after them.

҉

Karin giggled while Nagato was exasperated about his fiancé glaring at the ANBU ninja that was more or less hovering over their shoulders. It was like a blow to his pride and an insult to his abilities to have the elite Shinobi around; he didn't like it at all.

"Your face is going to freeze if you don't stop." Nagato said.

"Then he should go." Yahiko growled.

"Yahiko, he's protecting us. That means you too."

"I can protect us just fine!"

Karin let out a full belly laugh, "He's pouting! He's pouting!"

Nagato rubbed his forehead, "I swear, I'm surrounded by fools…"

That's when Yahiko saw Minato come in with two other Shinobi and he sighed in relief.

"Minato-sama, thank goodness! You have faith in my abilities to protect our family, right?" he pleaded.

Minato looked at the ANBU immediately understanding what the guard was referring to.

He smiled and pecked his forehead, "Of course you are. But, we're technically on vacation. And even if we weren't, you're a visiting Shinobi assigned to protect the family of the son of the current Hokage, and that grants you certain benefits out of respect between nations and the like. This is no different than your comrades watching your back on a routine mission."

"So, he's protecting me while I'm protecting everyone?" he asked.

"Exactly! Now, I want you all to meet a couple of my old friends. This is Hatake Kakashi, and his teishu, Iruka, we were in the academy together, and Iruka and I were later put on a Genin team together with Sasuke's mother. Iru, Kashi, these are my children, Karin, Nagato, and Nagato's fiancé, Yahiko." Minato said introducing his friends and his family.

"Yo." Kakashi waved.

"Mina, they're more gorgeous than in the picture! But, where's Naruto?" Iruka asked not seeing his friend's third child.

Minato gestured for them to sit around the table and leaned in close so that what he told them wouldn't go beyond their table.

"Do you know Uchiha Sasuke?" he asked.

"Yes, he was number one in his class when he graduated. He was later put on Kakashi's team." Iruka said.

"Poor boy ended up married to Sakura. She was a good student, judging from her record, but she lacked ambition; she never took the Chunin Exams when she had the opportunity. Another drawback she had was she chased after Sasuke like a puppy, along with all the other girls and Ikiru Dansei. They're obviously a bad match." Kakashi added.

"Don't we know it." Nagato said rolling his eyes.

"We saw it when we met the head family a day after our arrival to Konoha; she had no respect for Sasuke-Ouji's honor, or Naruto's position. Sasuke-Ouji slapped her." Karin explained.

The couple's eyes widened at the part about their former student becoming physical with his wife.

"Sasuke? Slapped Sakura? Wow…" Iruka breathed out at the end.

Minato nodded.

"My mother wrote to us proposing that Naruto and Sasuke meet. She believes they will be a good match for marriage." He explained.

"Your son, marry Sasuke? That's why you and your family are here?" Kakashi asked.

The blond nodded again, "Right now, they're getting to know each other. If they feel this could work out, an engagement will be enacted."

Kakashi leaned back in his chair, and Minato and Iruka were the only ones who could see that he was smirking in amusement under his mask.

"Well, Mina-kun, I can already tell that things are about to get very, very interesting.

* * *

 **G'night everybody! Remember to review!**

 **They'll help me get through my pain-in-the-ass work schedule.**

 **And I think next chapter we'll see if these two will agree to an engagement~**


End file.
